
What is in Diesel and How is Diesel Made from Crude Oil
“What is in diesel?” is a question with two answers, one very short and the other very long. The short answer is hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons, as the name implies, are molecules made of hydrogen and carbon atom bonds. Hydrocarbons are the components of every fossil fuel — and biofuel — that ma

How Does Nature Make Oil? Diagenesis, Catagenesis and Hydrocarbons
The single most important natural resource in human history — with respect to the development and use of technology — is oil. Fossil fuels generate our electricity and propel our vehicles, ships, and airplanes. Fossil fuels are the reason we have plastics and synthetics, the materials we use to

How Efficient are Engines: Compression Ratio & Thermal Efficiency
What Percent of the Thermal Energy Produced by Fossil Fuel Combustion Contributes to the Locomotion of a Vehicle? There is a conundrum with respect to the diesel-versus-gasoline-engine comparison. It is common knowledge in Europe, Asia, Australia, South and Central America — just about everywhere

What is a Catalytic Converter In Comparison to a Fuel Catalyst
How a Catalytic Converter Works and Why It Can Not Improve Fuel Efficiency A catalytic converter is one of the most common devices found on a vehicle. Whether it is a passenger vehicle or a light duty pickup; a heavy-duty pickup, dump truck or semi-tractor trailer; or a piece of heavy equipment, alm

What is Crude Oil Made Of? Or, What is Crude Oil? Or, What is Oil?
Fossil Fuel Components of Crude Oil and What Makes Them Different While the notion of a barrel of oil is just as common in everyday vernacular as the idea of a bottle of water, what crude oil is made of is a mystery to most people. “What is crude oil made of?” is the question […]